THIS IS WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

THE BIGGEST ANIMATED MOVIE IN THE WORLD WAS MADE IN CHINA. IT CONCEALS AN UGLY TRUTH.

- JASON KEHE

IS NE ZHA the ugliest main character in the history of animated cinema? The Hunchback of Notre Dame might have him beat, but Quasimodo's ugliness is ennobling; Ne Zha's is corrupting. Not only does he have sunken eyes, bad teeth, and the world's worst haircut, he's also a complete shit. He throws tantrums. He breaks things. He drops trou and pisses wherever he pleases. The Americans I know who've tried to watch either of his two movies shut them off within moments, disgusted.

Not that this little freak needs Americans. Ne Zha II, which came out in China last year, was the first non-Hollywood film to hit $1 billion in a single market.